For years, abortion-rights advocates have used the First Amendment as a weapon to challenge laws that require doctors to display an ultrasound or describe a fetus in detail to a patient.
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday on a California law that forces licensed pregnancy-counseling clinics that promote childbirth as an alternative to tell patients they might be eligible for free or discounted abortions. Pregnancy centers say they are being compelled to advertise a procedure they abhor.
"The government cannot gerrymander a law to target disfavored speakers, and it cannot require Americans to promote messages that violate their convictions," said Kristen Waggoner, an Alliance Defending Freedom lawyer who represents the centers.